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<title>Flowers that Bloom in the Darkness — 暗闇に咲く花 by msmorie</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28426986">Flowers that Bloom in the Darkness — 暗闇に咲く花</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/msmorie/pseuds/msmorie'>msmorie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Darker Than Darkness [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>GLAY, Jrock, LUNA SEA, Malice Mizer, X JAPAN</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:27:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,768</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28426986</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/msmorie/pseuds/msmorie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Blood was their death and their life. Blood had made them and blood alone sustained them. Blood could heal them. Sugizo tilted Heath’s head back and let the blood from his arm trickle into his slack mouth and Heath weakly swallowed. Their clothes were soaked with blood and heavy but without another word, Sugizo took Heath and they disappeared into the night.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Heath (X JAPAN)/Sugizo (LUNA SEA)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Darker Than Darkness [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990495</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They sat beneath the red foliage of the old maple tree with its delicate weeping branches outspread like a mother’s arms, cradling her precious little children about her. Soon the tree would drop her leaves and shiver, naked, throughout the coming winter, but for now she was brilliant and beautiful in her exquisite velvet robes of red. It was the middle of autumn and on this bright, clear night they could see and smell everything. The full moon hung in the sky, huge and round and bright as could be like a glowing white jewel against a backdrop of glittering stars in a pool of inky black and blue; lush grass and rich soil; the earthy odour of decaying leaves on the ground and impending rain far off in the distance; smoke from people in nearby towns roasting sweet potatoes and chestnuts for the mid-autumn Tsukimi festival, when people would gather to celebrate the autumn harvest moon.</p><p>A gentle breeze whispered through the grass and leaves: fill your larders, for this winter will be a harsh one. They needn’t heed the warning on the wind, for they lived beyond the daily struggles of mankind. It had been some decades since they were brought to their maker’s home and they were quickly approaching their seventies but, sitting beneath the old maple tree together, they were just as young and fresh and beautiful as they had been the day that their hearts stopped beating in their twenties. Their skin was firm and fair and unblemished; mortal disease could not touch them, and time was of no consequence, for they could not age.</p><p>“I do enjoy looking at the moon,” the first young man sighed.</p><p>His dark-haired companion smiled. “I know. I don’t believe you have ever missed a single Tsukimi in all the years that I have known you, Sugizo.”</p><p>“Nor shall I.” Sugizo sighed again, wistfully this time. “My mother used to tell me that story when I was a child. It’s been so long that I cannot recall her face, but I will always remember the story of the rabbit on the moon.”</p><p>His friend remained quiet. He knew that Sugizo held little fondness for his mother, having sold him to a pleasure house when he was but a child of eight years old. At least he had a sweet fairytale to remind him of the kinder days of his childhood.</p><p>“Heath, look,” Sugizo said, pointing. “You can see him.”</p><p>Heath laughed lightly. “The moon is far too high in the sky. You cannot possibly see the rabbit from here.”</p><p>“But I can,” Sugizo insisted. Still pointing, he pulled his companion closer with his free hand. “If you sit here, look at where I am pointing. You can see his long ears and his cute, round body. Our little friend watches over us.”</p><p>They sat beneath the old maple tree, shoulder to shoulder, cheek to cheek. Sugizo’s gaze was fixed upon the moon but Heath’s eye was drawn to the hand that held him close. He gave a light cough and Sugizo withdrew his hand, looking down.</p><p>“I… I am sorry. That was not… <em> proper</em>, was it?”</p><p>Heath, too, avoided his gaze, but he smiled again. He would have blushed if he could. “No. It is quite all right. I… I don’t mind.” What he meant was <em> I liked it</em>, but perhaps would not have been ‘proper’ to admit, either.</p><p>Sugizo swallowed a sigh of relief and cast a glance at his companion. Heath looked especially lovely tonight. The soft glow of the moon highlighted his elegant features, in particular the beautiful eyes that had drawn him in the very moment they met some forty years ago. Heath had smelled of blood and terror and despair that night. Now, he smelled of jasmine and sweet wisteria and some unidentifiable, intoxicating, irresistible scent. Sugizo watched Heath blink slowly and he raised his gaze to meet Sugizo’s eyes with a questioning look.</p><p>Smiling bashfully, Sugizo looked away again. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. I simply wondered…”</p><p>“Wondered?”</p><p>Sugizo hesitated and chanced a look into Heath’s eyes, always so warm and patient. “Whether you would ever think of leaving this place.”</p><p>“Oh.” Heath thought upon this for a moment and shook his head. “No. I could not leave. Not if you remained here.”</p><p>“Then what if… we were to leave together?”</p><p>Heath did not answer for a moment, but he held Sugizo’s gaze calmly. “I hate the way he touches me.”</p><p>By <em> he</em>, Sugizo knew that there was only one person: their vain, capricious maker, strong and beautiful and golden with an explosive temper as imperious as the sun itself.</p><p>“I hate it when he touches me, too,” Sugizo said quietly. He had spent almost twenty years working at the Gin no Tsuki pleasure house in Kanagawa. As a child, they had dressed the pretty little boy as a pretty little girl and he would greet guests at the door and serve refreshments to them. During this time he had been groped and fondled by more lecherous older men than he could count, and then when he came of age, he was pressed into service where men and women alike would pay a handsome fee to do all sorts of things to him. Yet in all these years he had never been quite so repulsed by another’s touch or felt so dirty and used as he did now, under Yoshiki’s roof.</p><p>“I…” Heath began softly and reached out to touch Sugizo’s hand. “If I had my way, Yoshiki would never lay a hand on you.”</p><p>They both knew that that was an impossible dream. Yoshiki was stronger than either of them and even if that weren’t the case, they couldn’t lay a hand on him if they valued their lives. Theirs was a bloodthirsty, cutthroat breed with no rules or laws to keep them in check, save for one: the ultimate sin of harming or killing the one who gave them new life. Those who were guilty of the crime of killing their maker would soon see a bloody end at the hands of their peers.</p><p>Still, there was no harm in <em> dreaming </em> of a life without their maker, Sugizo thought with a smile. He leaned in close with a conspiratorial smile, as though he were about to divulge a great secret. His lips were almost close enough to brush against Heath’s ear. “I wouldn’t mind if <em> you </em> touched me that way.”</p><p>Perhaps it wasn’t <em> proper </em> either but when they gazed into each other’s eyes, nothing and nobody else mattered. They had spent far too many years dancing around each other and the simple words they exchanged tonight brought it all to the surface, culminating in a kiss with dreamy, hooded eyes, the meeting of cool, soft lips and a delicate gasp, half surprise, half delight. Just one simple little kiss and their lips parted. Sugizo rested his forehead against Heath’s and dared to reach up and touch his face, a tender caress of his thumb over Heath’s delicate skin and they shared a tiny smile before their lips met again with more confidence this time, feeling the soft brush of dark lashes on cool porcelain cheeks, and it was almost as pleasurable as feeding on live prey, like a gentle flame rippling beneath their skin, a startling warmth that burned and glowed inside them like hot liquor, chancing a tentative taste of Heath, propriety be damned, and trembled with delight when Heath responded in kind. Heath cupped the side of Sugizo’s face with one hand and Sugizo sighed into their kiss, clasped that hand in his own. Mine. Yours. Ours. This wasn’t just kissing. They had each kissed other people before. What they shared now were songs and poems, shy promises and bold declarations, visions of forever, a delightful secret like a hidden, gleaming pearl that was known only to the two of them. Happiness. Exhilaration. Peace.</p><p> </p><p>Love.</p><p> </p><p>Sugizo’s body exploded with pain and somebody was screaming and it was Heath’s voice, Heath was screaming his name  and he tried to move, he needed to be by Heath’s side and shield him from whatever danger had befallen them and he bit back a scream of his own; his arms and legs wouldn’t obey as though the very bones were broken and with much effort he opened his eyes and he stared down at the unnatural way his arm bent at the elbow, <em> oh gods his bones were broken</em>, and he set his jaw, grasped his forearm with his good hand and shoved the joint back into place with a thick <em> crack </em> and through the blur of agony and tears he saw Heath lunging for him, only for a furious streak of gold to swoop in and catch him by the scruff of his neck.</p><p>“No!” Heath cried. “Spare him, my lord. Take me instead!”</p><p>Blush pink lips twisted into a snarl of satisfaction. “As you wish.”</p><p>Lying in a heap against the side of Yoshiki’s manse, his body alight and thrumming with pain while his cracked bones twisted and groaned and tried to mend themselves, Sugizo could only watch in silent horror when Yoshiki sank his teeth deep into Heath’s neck and tore a great gash from throat to chest, drowning Heath’s tortured screams in his own blood, and their eyes meeting for one fleeting moment: Shock. Tears. Agony.</p><p> </p><p>And love.</p><p> </p><p>With one last contemptuous sneer, Yoshiki threw Heath’s broken, bloody body on the ground and left in a whirlwind of red-hot fury. Sugizo did not see where he went; all he could see was blood, blood everywhere, Heath was choking on it in between short, shallow gasps as the likes of Mana, Takuro and Hisashi looked on sadly.</p><p>Takuro knelt down in the blood-drenched grass beside Sugizo. “What can we do?”</p><p>But Sugizo did not hear him. Terrified, he hovered over Heath’s barely conscious form, unaware of the tears running down his face. He looked down at the ground between his knees. The flow of blood from Heath’s body had slowed and it spread in a thick, dark pool around them and everything that Sugizo saw was red, red, red: red grass, red dirt, red hands, red leaves. Having lost so much blood so quickly, Heath’s already pale skin turned as white and dry as paper and his once beautiful, leanly-muscled body was as limp and withered as a long-dead corpse, as though the past few decades of bountiful youth had finally caught up with him in the blink of an eye. He was barely breathing now, just the occasional wheeze of his body desperately clawing to stay alive and failing, and his eyes were blank and unseeing as Sugizo knelt, cradling his thin body, cool tears cutting clear tracks through the smears of blood on his face. It wasn’t fair. They hadn’t even had a chance to enjoy their time together and Yoshiki, jealous, petty Yoshiki couldn’t stand to see someone else’s happiness when it didn’t involve himself and had to rip them apart. Yoshiki who had given them his blood and forced them to live by his will.</p><p>“Sugizo.” Takuro’s voice sounded very far away. “He has lost too much blood. I fear…”</p><p>Something about this train of thought gave Sugizo pause and he gave Takuro a hard stare. Everything revolved around blood. Blood was their death and their life. Blood had made them and blood alone sustained them. Blood could <em> heal </em> them. Heath had lost a lot of blood but if he took in enough fresh blood…</p><p>“Sugizo, don’t—!” Hisashi cried, but he had already torn his own forearm open with his teeth and pressed the bleeding wound to Heath’s already bloodstained lips, pooling off and drawing a lovely line of red across his withered cheek before dripping into the puddle of blood beneath them that had already begun to soak into the earth. Sugizo held Heath tight and wept bitterly, fearing the worst, until Heath’s body jerked to life like a wooden doll; his eyes, still clouded and seeing nothing, snapped open and a low moan of agony escaped from his red-painted lips. Still sobbing but clinging to that sliver of hope, Sugizo tilted Heath’s head back and let the blood from his arm trickle into his slack mouth. The smell of fresh blood drove his animal instinct to survive, and the dying Heath weakly swallowed this generous offering of life. Before long, Sugizo’s wound healed over and Heath swallowed one last time and his eyes fluttered closed with a sigh, his body once again going limp. Sugizo pressed a trembling kiss to his forehead and gathered him up in his arms. Their clothes were soaked with blood and heavy, and his still-healing bones ached terribly, but he paid this no heed. Without a look or a word to those who looked on, Sugizo took Heath and they disappeared into the night, never to return to their maker’s home.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>God it's always nerve-racking to release a new story into the wild. I hope you all enjoy :)</p><p>The title comes from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH_htIjd3w4">MUCC's Kurayami ni Saku Hana</a>. If you haven't heard it, do yourself a favour!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first night was the hardest.</p><p> </p><p>Sugizo limped for hours with Heath cradled in his arms, not knowing where he was going. He had no other home to return to. None of them did. Any family they had before they had been changed would be old or otherwise dead by now, and any descendants would not know or accept them as they were. Certainly Sugizo had no intention of returning to the pleasure house in Kanagawa from where he was stolen. Yoshiki’s was the only home he had known for decades and in between bouts of their maker’s temper and being summoned to his bed, they had lived in relative peace and comfort amongst their own kind.</p><p>He looked up. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and the thick, damp smell of approaching rain grew stronger. How late was it? He would need to find shelter very soon if they were both to survive. The moonlight shining in between the dark clouds filtered through the trees in the forest, silvery tendrils between leaves and branches, illuminating a huge, dark form in the distance: a small, dilapidated Buddhist temple, the paint chipped and faded, the sharply-sloping roof missing tiles in big gaps, the walls overgrown with green creepers and moss and lichen. There were two aged stone lanterns standing on either side of the entryway and they were similarly adorned with greenery from years and decades of neglect. Sugizo almost fell to his knees and praised whichever deities were out there watching over them and showing him the way. All was not lost.</p><p>Sugizo lay Heath down very gently on the dirty, gritty floor of the temple, tucked away in the farthest, darkest corner he could find so that the light of tomorrow’s sun would not reach them. He brushed a lock of hair away from Heath’s sunken cheek, stark black against white. He was asleep or unconscious, allowing his body to channel what little strength he had into healing, but he looked <em> dead </em> and his cheek felt so, so cold. His breathing came in very slowly and shallowly, barely perceptible at a first or second glance. Looking at Heath in such a pitiful state, so thin and ashen and all but drowned in his own blood, Sugizo wanted to cry but he knew he had no such luxury right now. He had to save him first. They could cry over this later, once Heath was out of danger. Sugizo leaned over him and pressed a trembling kiss to his forehead. <em> I shall return before long, </em> the kiss said. <em> Please wait for me. </em></p><p>Heath would need a lot of blood to sustain his recovery. He was far too weak to be able to feed properly, so Sugizo had no choice but to bring the blood to him. He looked up at the clouded sky; at a guess, he would have perhaps two hours to find prey and make it back to Heath before first light. He made his way through the forest and into the nearest town swiftly and quietly. Very few people were out and about at this hour so he could not afford to be picky. The first person he encountered was a man on his way home late from the local brothel, and they stopped and stared at each other for a second: one a balding, overweight, middle-aged man stinking of alcohol and sex, the other a younger man perhaps half his age in dark, sodden clothing with blood smeared on his face and hands and an unnaturally cold look in his eye. The older man’s mouth fell open and he turned to run, but Sugizo was upon him without a sound, holding him in a frighteningly strong grip, and he bit down into the soft rolls of skin of his neck, paying no attention to the sharp odour of sweat and fear and he drank deeply, scarcely stopping for breath. The man thrashed and tried to scream but the dark creature clapped a hand over his mouth and held him more tightly and still he drank, sucking and swallowing mouthful after mouthful of thick, musky-tasting blood tinged with the bite of alcohol and whatever else the man had imbibed before his unlucky encounter. It was not long before the man grew limp and heavy in Sugizo’s arms, unconscious from the sheer amount of blood he had lost, and still Sugizo drank. The deeper he drank, the more effort it took, as though the human body did not want to let go, but Heath needed a lot of blood and Sugizo was determined to take <em> all </em> of it. He heard voices, then; three or four drunk men laughing and shouting jovially at each other. With his lips and teeth still fastened to that pulsing vein in the man’s neck, Sugizo glanced around and dragged his prey into a narrow alley where he might feed in peace without being seen or disturbed. If anyone thought to look, they might have seen a dark shape with fierce eyes hovering over the limp form of a man and heard the soft sighs of a creature of the night feeding, but nobody did. They walked past without a single glance as Sugizo drank his quarry dry, leaving a shapeless, bloodless corpse on the ground. Normally they were loath to leave such obvious evidence behind but Sugizo’s sole concern was saving Heath’s life. He stood and licked the last few drops from his lips and, after a moment’s thought, stripped the man down to his underclothes. He would need to change out of his own bloodstained clothes sooner or later to avoid drawing attention from humans as well as his maker, who would surely be able to follow the scent of Heath’s blood. Heavy and bloated from overfeeding, Sugizo made his way back to the temple with haste. At the back of his mind, he wondered if he would make it in time. Heath was barely alive when he had left to go and hunt. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he came back to find that Heath had died while he was gone. Sugizo gritted his teeth and pushed these thoughts away. Heath was barely alive but he <em> was </em> still alive. He would give him blood and he would live.</p><p> </p><p>The curtain of heavy black clouds drifted over the moon by the time Sugizo found the temple again. Thunder rolled in the distance like the deep, chesty snarl of a great dragon in the sky, and the already cool night became cold when rain finally fell. Heath was still where he had left him.</p><p>Sugizo whispered his name. “Heath.”</p><p>Heath did not stir.</p><p>Sugizo called his name again, louder this time, and received no reaction or response, not a twitch of a finger or a flutter of the eye. An invisible claw of panic slid around Sugizo’s throat and clenched. He called Heath’s name once more, held his hand, squeezed it, shook his shoulder once, twice and tears gathered in Sugizo’s eyes and a sob rose in his throat and he was about to slap Heath across the face when lightning cracked open the clouds, releasing the rain inside, and a deafening crack of thunder made the entire building shake and Heath woke up with a convulsive gasp, his eyes wide and staring up at the ceiling. Sugizo gathered him up in his arms, weeping and pressing little kisses to his face.</p><p>“Here, drink,” he whispered hoarsely, opening up his wrist and pressing it to Heath’s lips just as he had before. Heath only moaned softly and his head lolled sickly to one side.</p><p><em> He is too weak</em>, Sugizo realised with a sinking heart. <em> He hasn’t the strength to drink for himself</em>.</p><p> </p><p>If Heath couldn’t drink for himself, Sugizo would do it for him.</p><p> </p><p>Sugizo drew blood from his own wrist, filling his mouth and pressing his lips to Heath’s, letting the blood flood his mouth. Heath choked and coughed and the blood pooled back out again, running down his chin and neck but Sugizo would not be deterred. Cradling Heath’s bony, wasted body in his arms, he filled his mouth again and again, feeding Heath his own blood, trembling with joy when he swallowed what he was given. The wound in Sugizo’s wrist soon healed itself over but he tore his arm open again and again. It hurt but he did it as many times as he needed to keep feeding Heath mouth to mouth until Sugizo himself began to feel faint. He would have to stop here. It would not do to weaken himself so much that he couldn’t hunt.</p><p>“I will save you, Heath,” he murmured. “You will live. I’ll see to it myself, and once you are all better we can be together. Please, please just hold on for a little longer.”</p><p>Heath’s lips parted and he seemed to take an immense effort to focus his gaze on Sugizo’s face. Sugizo did his best to smile through his tears. “I am here for you. Worry not.”</p><p>Heath blinked once, very slowly, and then his eyes closed again.</p><p>Sugizo gingerly peeled away the layers of ragged, blood-soaked clothing from Heath’s body. The wound that Yoshiki had dealt him was still fresh and gaping and red. Then he looked down at himself. He would have to dispose of his ruined clothes but before he did so, he tore off anything that wasn’t too badly stained. With one long length of linen, he bound up Heath’s wound tightly. Another scrap of cloth was soaked in rain and used to gently clean the dried blood from Heath’s face.</p><p><em> There</em>, Sugizo thought as he dabbed at the last few dark red streaks on his chin. <em> That’s a lot better</em>. He would give Heath a proper wash when his wound began to heal. For now, they needed to rest and recuperate. They had endured a most harrowing night and Heath had far to go in his recovery. Sugizo stripped his own torn, bloodstained clothes off and buried them as deeply as he could. Digging with his bare hands was hard and tedious work especially in the rain but once his clothes were buried deep enough, wild animals wouldn’t be able to dig them up and expose their trail. Naked, he stood out in the pelting rain, letting it loosen and wash off the fresh mud and dried blood caked to his skin, and he dressed himself in the clothes that he had stolen from the man he’d attacked earlier that night. The clothes still bore the man’s strong odour but at least they fit well enough until he could find something cleaner. Together, they slept soundly through the day with Heath safely nestled between Sugizo and the wall.</p><p>The next evening, Heath did not stir when he lifted him from the floor of the old Buddhist temple and moved on. Sugizo walked doggedly for hours until he found adequate shelter for them, where he would once again set Heath down to rest while he himself set out to hunt. On this second night, Sugizo once again drained his prey dry and stripped them of their clothing. This time, after he had woken Heath up and given him a good feed, he helped him out of his old clothes which had become stiff with dried blood. Heath had bled through his makeshift dressing. Sugizo carefully removed this and bound him up with fresh linen before helping him into his new, stolen clothing. His old clothes were buried as well. Heath was still too weak to do anything except sleep.</p><p>When Sugizo gathered Heath into his arms at dusk on the fourth night and resumed their new nomadic life, Heath stirred and Sugizo’s heart fairly leapt for joy. This was the first sure sign of improvement in Heath’s condition and he pressed delicate little kisses to Heath’s face until he saw tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.</p><p>“Shh,” Sugizo whispered, stroking his hair soothingly. “It’s all right. Go back to sleep. If you sleep, you won’t feel the pain.”</p><p>But it wasn’t the pain for which Heath wept. “Wh… wh…”</p><p>“Don’t try to speak. Save your strength.”</p><p>“N…no…” Heath ground out through clenched teeth. “Wha… what are… y-you doing?”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Y-you… ngh, leave m-me.”</p><p>“Do not worry,” Sugizo murmured. “I won’t leave you.”</p><p>“<em>No!</em>” Heath’s chest heaved with the effort it took to speak. “You n-need… to… <em> leave </em> me!”</p><p>Sugizo’s blood ran cold. “Why would I do that?”</p><p>Tears streamed down Heath’s face and he groaned in pain. “Am… dying.”</p><p>“No, no. Shh. You’ll be fine, you’ll see. Please don’t worry. I will take care of you.”</p><p>“He… w-will find…”</p><p>“No, he won’t.”</p><p>“I’m… dead weight.”</p><p>“Don’t say that.”</p><p>“I’m… s-slow you down.” Heath bit back another agonised moan. “If he finds… h-he will kill—”</p><p>“I won’t let him kill you.”</p><p>“—kill <em> you!</em>”</p><p>Sugizo kept walking, keeping a resolute calm about him. “I am not afraid of him.”</p><p>“No,” Heath whimpered. “He… too strong.”</p><p>“I don’t care,” Sugizo snarled. “I’ll do anything to protect you.”</p><p>“You <em> can’t</em>,” Heath sobbed. “If you die… all of this… for nothing.”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“L-leave me—”</p><p>“No, stop this.”</p><p>“—you can be fr-ree—”</p><p>“Stop it, <em> stop it</em>, <em> STOP IT!</em>” Sugizo buried his face into Heath’s shoulder and let heavy sobs rack his body. “What use do I have for freedom if you’re not there? There is nothing without you. If Yoshiki finds us, then so be it. He is free to kill us both if he wishes it, but I will not leave you to die on your own! Would you curse me to live with your death, knowing that I could have saved you?”</p><p>Heath only wept harder at this but he had not the strength to speak and convince Sugizo to leave his side and, exhausted by his efforts, descended back into a deep sleep, his eyelashes webbed with tears.</p><p>There was no place out here where they might shelter undetected, but Sugizo found a small farmhouse with an enclosed pig pen that adjoined a small stable. It smelled strongly of manure but this would have to do for now. The pigs squealed when they came near, frightened into a panic by the scent of predators, and the horse occupying one of the stalls reared and backed away, snorting and tossing its head. Sugizo set Heath down on the dirt floor of the empty stall. The walls were high enough that the sun might not touch them in here. He stroked Heath’s face gently, brushing away the last of his tears, and took off into the night for his hunt.</p><p>He returned a few hours later to wake Heath up for his feed, changed his dressing, as had become their routine, and curled up to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>The next time he woke, a bright light all but seared his eyes and he was so startled by this that it took a few moments to realise what was going on when something hard prodded him in the shoulder.</p><p>“I said, who are you?” It was the human to whom the house and livestock belonged, and fear and fury stabbed at Sugizo’s heart at being discovered, being caught out during the day when they were at their most vulnerable. His predator’s instincts screamed for him to attack and kill the intruder, take his blood for himself and for Heath. His human instincts told him to yield and to reason, to lessen the risk to Heath.</p><p>“Speak!” the man barked, pointing the end of a broomstick in Sugizo’s face. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”</p><p>Sugizo slowly sat up and he held up both hands to show that he was unarmed and not a threat. “Please,” he said quietly. “I… we mean no harm. We are… travellers, good sir. My… my friend is ill and he only needs a place to rest.”</p><p>The man maintained his suspicious glare. “If he is ill, why don’t you take him to see a physician?”</p><p>“Please, sir.” Sugizo licked his lips and tried again. “He does not need a physician, only rest. I ask nothing of you but for a dark, quiet place to sleep for the day. We need no food or water, nor money. I promise we will be gone by nightfall.”</p><p>The old man leaned down and peered at him, and Sugizo breathed an inward sigh of relief that he had washed all of the blood from himself and that Heath was still sound asleep, facing the wall. It would not do for anyone, much less a human to see Heath’s face the way he looked right now.</p><p>“You’re awfully pale, young man,” the man finally remarked. “Are you ill as well?”</p><p>“N-no, it is just fatigue, good sir. We shall be quite fine by the evening and by then we will move on. I promise we shan’t disturb you. If we can only sleep for the day, you need not know that we are here at all.”</p><p>The old man frowned. These two travellers looked suspicious to have turned up in his stable overnight. They looked unkempt but this young man was far more polite and articulate than your average beggar, and he was very insistent that they needed nothing but rest. Finally the man rubbed his greying beard and nodded. “Very well. If you need a quiet place to sleep, I can offer you a bed for the day, and you can wash up inside as well. I’ll be working until dusk, so I won’t disturb—”</p><p>“No!” Sugizo said quickly. The stables were at least a good fifty paces from the farmhouse. Sugizo himself would never make it there unscathed in the morning sun, and that sort of exposure would almost certainly kill Heath in his present state. “We will be fine right here, good sir.”</p><p>“If your friend is unwell, sleeping outside on the ground won’t do him any good. It gets cold once the sun starts to set. He’ll catch his death out in the open.”</p><p>Sugizo shook his head firmly. “I appreciate your kind offer but it is all right.”</p><p>“Well, if you’re sure,” the old man said dubiously.</p><p>The stable door squeaked closed on aged, rusty hinges and the stall was dark again. Sugizo drew a sigh and closed his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>The old man left the strangers to sleep and went about his daily work. The animals were unusually skittish this morning. One of the stray dogs that frequented his property, a brown mongrel that he called Genzo, trotted through the grass, out for a casual morning stroll, panting noisily and stopping to urinate at the base of a tree trunk. The old man watched as Genzo sniffed at the ground intently and whined. That was odd. Genzo normally wasn’t shy about coming around to beg for scraps. He squatted down and whistled at the dog, slapped his knee, but Genzo only put his ears down and whined again, refusing to come any closer. Finally the dog turned and meekly slunk away with his head and tail down and his ears folded back. The old grey mare kept tossing her head and pawing at the straw in her stall, and she only stopped fussing when he rubbed her face and spoke to her in a calm voice. The two pigs he kept were huddled together at the far end of the pig pen and refused to go near their trough for their morning feed no matter how he whistled and called to them. Figuring that they would eat once they were hungry enough, the old man left them alone and busied himself tending to his crops and mending any broken fences. The day was mild and he worked hard, stopping only for some lunch at midday. He sat on a log stool in the shade of his house, enjoying some freshly-made onigiri and hot tea. After he finished his midday meal, he went back inside to make a few more onigiri and wrapped them in cloth. He rubbed the mare’s soft nose with one hand as he walked past to peer over the door of the other stall. The two travellers were still in there, sound asleep. Huh, the old man thought to himself. If he hadn’t looked earlier this morning, he really <em> wouldn’t </em> have known that they were there. He left the food on an upturned wooden bucket next to the stall door and saddled his horse as quietly as he could to avoid disturbing his sleeping ‘guests’.</p><p>The old man returned home from the market just after dusk. The sky glowed in bands of blue and purple and orange as the last of the sun’s light dipped below the horizon. He was looking forward to a hot meal, a hot bath and a warm night’s sleep but first he would need to take care of his horse. He dismounted and led her up the well-worn dirt path, passing by the pig pen. They seemed to have calmed down by now, and when he peered into their trough, it had been licked clean of all but a few scraps. That was good. He had been worried; he couldn’t afford to lose two animals to illness. As he approached the stable, he saw that the door to the unused stall hung wide open. The travellers were gone and the food had not been touched.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh these poor darlings.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fearing that their maker might catch up to them, Sugizo continued to move them from place to place every evening. Heath slept deeply, as deeply as the dead, but his sleep was often haunted by the kind of nightmares that made him wake up screaming Sugizo’s name, thrashing wildly and sobbing and Sugizo would hold him and stroke his hair, murmuring soothing words to him.</p><p>“Shh, I am here, Heath. He cannot hurt us anymore. Go back to sleep. I am here for you.”</p><p>And Heath would curl up into a ball, his body wracked with pain and shuddering sobs while Sugizo sat by his side, stroking his hair until he fell asleep again. At dusk he would gather Heath up in his arms and walk for hours in search of a new place to stay for the day. Then he would go out and overfeed, and return to force Heath to drink from him, mouth to mouth. Heath still bled through his dressing every night, and so Sugizo continued to change his dressing every night with fresh linens. In his first year as an inexperienced and overconfident fledgling, Sugizo had once attempted to feed upon what turned out to be a bandit, and when he bit down, the man retaliated with a dull knife, tearing into Sugizo’s skin and flesh. The wound had been deep and painful, but it had healed itself within the hour and Sugizo felt no worse off for it afterwards. It had been days since Yoshiki set upon them and Heath’s wound scarcely looked better than when he had first received it. Sugizo frequently worried whether he was recovering at all; at times it seemed as though the blood he was feeding Heath was simply leaking out again, but he remained diligent with his care. There was nothing else he could do and in time his efforts paid off, for the bleeding gradually slowed and after seven nights, the cloth binding Heath’s wound only bore a few spots of red. Just in case, Sugizo gingerly peeled the linen back; the flesh beneath was still raw and red but there were no signs of decay. He was getting better, very slowly but it was happening.</p><p>The next night after feeding him, Sugizo carried Heath down to a shallow stream where he tore off a strip of clean linen and soaked it in the water to carefully wash the ragged skin around the wound and the worst of the dried blood on his skin. Now that he looked closer, his skin appeared different, too. The change was too gradual for him to notice a marked improvement at a glance, but Heath definitely looked healthier than he had on that first night; less gaunt, less withered. He was slowly getting stronger, too. As Sugizo gently sponged the wet cloth over his skin, the water loosened the dried blood and ran off in little red rivulets. Sugizo rinsed out the cloth over and over, bathing him patiently and methodically until Heath stirred and his dry lips parted, moving silently.</p><p>Sugizo leaned in close. “What is it?”</p><p>With his head resting in Sugizo’s lap, Heath’s dark lashes fluttered and he slowly opened his eyes, gazing up at him with clarity. “S’cold.”</p><p>Sugizo smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry. I don’t have anything I can use to warm up some water over a fire. Do you want me to stop?”</p><p>“Mm.” A tiny, grateful smile played at Heath’s lips. His eyes closed again but rested a hand on top of Sugizo’s. “No. Feels nice.”</p><p> </p><p>Heath was getting stronger every night, little by little. A fortnight after they fled from their maker, Heath was able to speak more and he now had the strength to feed from Sugizo’s arm without being force-fed. This was not to say that he didn’t enjoy the feeling of Sugizo’s lips pressed to his own. He was still too frail to walk on his own, so Sugizo continued to carry him in his arms as they trekked north through the countryside away from Chiba, headed towards Tochigi Prefecture. In Sugizo’s arms with his head resting against his shoulder, Heath found comfort in his companion’s scent and he would often drift into a peaceful slumber until Sugizo woke him for his next feed at their new hiding place. By the light of the waning crescent moon, Sugizo quietly studied Heath’s appearance and condition while he slept. Some of the suppleness had returned to his face and body, and his eyes and cheeks were not as sunken, nor as dull and sallow as they had been several days ago. He was still far too thin however, and the slightest bump could cause him to bruise very easily, dark bruises that took days to heal, but that would resolve itself with more time and more blood. At least Heath was now able to sit up with some trouble. His wound was still painful but it had healed enough to allow him some range of motion without overwhelming agony.</p><p>“Does it hurt you when I drink from you?” Heath murmured one night as he lapped at Sugizo’s wrist.</p><p>Sugizo shook his head. “No. It stings when you bite down, but when you drink it feels… pleasant. I like knowing that I can do this for you. Besides,” he said, smoothing Heath’s hair away from his forehead with all the tenderness of a mother comforting her child, “even if it <em> did </em> hurt, it wouldn’t matter as long as you’re getting better. And you are. I see that you are improving night by night.”</p><p>Heath sighed a long, contented sigh and gazed up at Sugizo with quiet contemplation and a soft smile. He slowly reached up and drew cool fingertips over the curve of Sugizo’s cheek, the strong line of his jaw, down his neck to his collarbone and back up again. Beneath his skin, Sugizo’s pulse, normally silent except when feeding on live prey, seemed to come alive.</p><p>Heath lifted his gaze. “Do you think I might…?”</p><p>Without a word, Sugizo cradled Heath closer and hoisted him a little higher in his lap. Heath slipped one arm around his neck and nuzzled the delicate skin, pressing a soft kiss to the pulse point beneath his jaw and feeling it thrum against his lips like an invitation. <em> Here it is</em>, it whispered to him. <em> You know what to do. </em></p><p>Sugizo kept himself very still, letting Heath explore this new territory at his own pace. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking in Heath’s scent; muted due to his frail condition, but unmistakably him. Delicate fingers played over Sugizo’s skin and lips, soft, teasing lips mouthed at his neck made him want to tremble and then he felt a brief sting in his neck and that first pull of blood and he jerked back in… surprise? Shock? Heath stared back at him; his eyes were wide as well but they softened in an instant and he gingerly touched the fresh bite he’d opened up on Sugizo’s neck.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Did I hurt you?”</p><p>Sugizo swallowed hard and trembled all over when Heath tenderly licked the wound. “I… no.”</p><p>“I wish you would not lie for my sake. Tell me the truth, please.”</p><p>“No, Heath, I… I’m not… you didn’t hurt me but…”</p><p>“But?”</p><p>How could he explain it? The intense jolt of lightheaded pleasure and exhilaration that knocks the breath out of you, like being drunk, like the rush of falling from a great height or the shock of jumping into a cold lake on a hot day.</p><p>Like the pleasure of all pleasures.</p><p>“I… it felt… good,” he stammered. “So good. It felt… it felt wonderful.”</p><p>Heath brushed his lips against his ear and whispered darkly, “You <em> taste </em> wonderful.”</p><p>Without thinking, Sugizo coaxed Heath to drink from his neck again. He was delirious with pleasure and his blood felt like fire and starlight in his veins. Was this what it was like to drink from their own kind, or was it a special connection that only the two of them shared? Their maker Yoshiki had never encouraged this behaviour but he was concerned only with his own pleasure, never anyone else’s. Was this what happened when vampires fell in love? Sugizo pressed Heath’s thin body to his own and he wanted nothing more than to kiss him all over, to ravish and worship him and make love to him and he might have done just that if Heath had not suddenly stopped drinking and pulled away.</p><p>“Wh… what’s wrong?” Sugizo asked breathlessly and he received his answer when Heath slumped in his arms, his forehead pressed against his companion’s shoulder and breathing heavily.</p><p>“Too tired,” Heath murmured. “And I am afraid of hurting you.”</p><p>“Never,” Sugizo assured him. “You could do no such thing. Do you want more?”</p><p>Heath shook his head and tenderly kissed the raw bite until it healed over. “No,” he said at last with another one of those lovely smiles. “I just want to sleep. A sleep without dreams.”</p><p>“Shh. He isn’t here.” Sugizo helped Heath lie down and curled a protective arm around him. “It’s just you and me, just the way we wanted.”</p><p> </p><p>They continued on their way the next evening and the next. The waning crescent moon turned and became the new moon, and the new moon turned and became the waxing crescent moon, and by this time Heath’s bloody wound had become a thin, ragged tear, very sore and, much to Heath’s chagrin, very itchy. He was now able to stand and walk about on unsteady legs for brief periods. One night, Sugizo brought Heath with him on a hunt so that he wouldn’t have to spend a few very boring hours alone. Sugizo brought their prey down and they fed together, and once they were done he carried a tired but sated Heath back to their hiding place for the night. In the early days when Heath was little more than an emaciated corpse, he had weighed almost nothing but now there was a much healthier weight to him and the light had returned to his eyes. His strength came back little by little and instead of falling asleep immediately after a good feed, he would stay up with Sugizo during the night, sitting together as they used to do in the old days beneath the old maple tree, side by side, gazing up at the stars and the fairytale rabbit on the moon, quietly talking, laughing, holding hands.</p><p>Kissing.</p><p>Throughout Heath’s laborious and distressing recovery, Sugizo thought often on their first kiss and how beautiful it had felt to share something so intimate and sweet with one he had been so entranced with since they first laid eyes on one another. Would it happen again, he had wondered? There were many times when he wanted to kiss Heath while he slept, when he did nothing <em> but </em> sleep in between being force-fed and he did once, a gentle kiss to those dry, paper-white lips, but it wasn’t the same if Heath couldn’t feel it. Then when Heath gradually recovered his strength and could sit up, he had wanted to do it then. But Heath was still so frail and always so tired, and so Sugizo kept himself entertained with just the tactile memory of their first kiss, doing his best not to recall what had happened immediately after. He didn't always succeed with the latter.</p><p>Then one night, Heath lay sleeping peacefully with his head in Sugizo’s lap. Sugizo gazed down at him fondly, stroking his hair, as soft and smooth as any silk, running his thumb along the curve of his cheek and those soft, pale pink lips. It was astonishing, he thought, how well Heath had recovered after that harrowing night. If it weren’t for the painful-looking tear in his chest, you might never know that anything had happened to him. How could Yoshiki hurt them so? How could he hurt and try to kill such a beautiful creature that <em> he had made? </em> The more Sugizo thought of this act of sheer wilful cruelty, the more the rage and hate simmered beneath his skin. Yoshiki had seen how happy they were together and dealt a near-fatal wound to Heath and left just like that. Sugizo ground his teeth and clenched his fists. Yoshiki had <em> wanted </em> him to watch Heath die.</p><p>He snapped out of his reverie when Heath awoke with a start, coughing hard, and Sugizo helped him up and rubbed his back. “Another nightmare?”</p><p>Heath coughed a few more times and rubbed his sore chest. He shook his head. “Is something the matter?”</p><p>“No. What do you mean?”</p><p>“Are you sure?” When Heath looked up, his eyes were dark with worry. “I dreamt of your voice. There was so much anger, I feared that something—”</p><p>“No no no, shh,” Sugizo assured him. “It is nothing. You were only dreaming. Everything is fine. The night is clear and quiet, and we are safe. Go back to sleep.”</p><p>Heath reached up and pressed a cool palm to the side of his face. “It will be daylight soon. You need your rest too, love. I know that looking after me is very difficult on you.”</p><p>“It is no such thing. I am fine—wait, what did you just call me?”</p><p>“I…” Heath hesitated and his gaze skated away. “I am sorry, I d-didn’t mean—”</p><p>“No. Heath.” Sugizo cupped his face in both hands. “Tell me. What did you call me?”</p><p>Guiltily, Heath raised his eyes to meet Sugizo’s gaze for a brief moment, only to skate away again as though he were confessing to some shameful wrongdoing. “‘Love’. I am sorry, was that… should I not have…?”</p><p>His words slipped away when Sugizo pulled him closer and kissed him so fiercely that a noise of surprise escaped from Heath’s throat, melting into a soft, delicate sigh. He wanted this as much as Sugizo did, had missed and craved his touch and his lips every night, even in his deepest sleep, worried that the first sweet kisses they had shared beneath the old maple tree had been some sort of beautiful, miraculous accident that he might never experience again, and here they were in each other’s arms, Heath’s hands tangled in Sugizo’s hair, kissing him again and again, long and languid with soft, sweet lips, rekindling that fire that had glowed inside them. Yoshiki hadn’t won. They had escaped from his grasp and now they had a second chance to fall in love properly. Sugizo cradled the back of Heath’s head and gently lowered him to the floor without breaking their kiss even for a second, the flame in him burning hotter than ever and—</p><p>“<em>Ah!</em>”</p><p>A sharp cry of pain; on top of Heath, Sugizo froze. Heath had his head tilted back, his face twisted into a grimace, his teeth biting into his lower lip, one hand clutched over his chest. Sugizo swore under his breath. He had gotten too carried away; Heath’s wound was still painful and Sugizo had almost settled his whole weight upon him.</p><p>“Gods I am so sorry, oh Heath please, <em> please </em> forgive me.” He pressed frantic, delicate little kisses across his forehead. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just… it slipped my mind—”</p><p>Heath only smiled that sweet smile of his and reached up to stroke his face again. “It is all right. It slipped my mind as well. Perhaps when I am better…”</p><p>“Shh. No need to think about that right now.” Sugizo cradled Heath’s body against his own protectively, keeping his hands well clear of the bandaged wound. “Go back to sleep. You need your rest.”</p><p>“I’ll try, love.”</p><p> </p><p>Sugizo closed his eyes to go to sleep as well, but sleep would not come easily. <em> Love</em>, Heath had called him. He had never heard anything sweeter, nor in his many years had he felt quite so taken with anybody as he was now with Heath and while he knew in his mind that they shared the same feelings for one another, hearing it put into words in this manner was enough to bring tears of sheer happiness. Even though they had no home to call their own, everything that Sugizo ever wanted or needed was right here.</p><p>A soft chuckle made him open his eyes. “Heath? What is it now?”</p><p>Still awake, Heath’s warm eyes were bright with mirth. “Why do you keep smiling?”</p><p>“Have you been watching me instead of sleeping?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>Heath brought one of Sugizo’s hands to his lips and kissed it gently. “I want you to be the very last thing I see before I go to sleep. If I can dream of you instead of him, I know that I will sleep easy and happy.”</p><p>Still smiling, Sugizo shook his head. “Go to sleep, my sweet.”</p><p>“You haven’t answered my question. Why do you keep smiling?”</p><p>Sugizo regarded him with much affection and at length he pressed a light kiss to his lips. “Because I love you.”</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Heath’s wound was almost completely healed by the time the next full moon was upon them. What remained of it was a long, ugly scar but it did not hinder his movement and was no longer painful. For reasons that Sugizo could not understand, Heath was terribly self-conscious of his scar and he refused to undress or wash himself unless he was alone and out of sight. Sugizo told Heath time and again that he had seen him at his worst when he was almost dying, and that he really didn’t care about any damn scar so long as Heath was alive and well.</p><p>“Think of it as kintsugi,” Sugizo had teased him once, using a finger to trace the line of the scar through Heath’s clothing.</p><p>Heath only pouted and turned away, drawing his clothes tighter about himself.</p><p>“Dearest, I wish that you would not worry.” Sugizo pulled him into his arms and pressed a kiss to his hair. “If that terrible wound can heal, so too will this. Scar or no scar, I would feel no differently about you.”</p><p>“Really?” Heath whispered.</p><p>“Really.” Sugizo sighed and held him a little—just a little—tighter. “Even <em> if </em> you were to carry that scar for the rest of our days, it would not mar your beauty or diminish how I feel about you. It is a mark of what we have survived to be together and I could only love you more for it.”</p><p>Tears filled Heath’s eyes. Not the rest of <em> your </em> days. The rest of <em> our </em> days. It was such an offhand remark but the weight it carried was vast.</p><p>“Shh, now why are you crying?” Sugizo scolded him gently.</p><p>Heath brushed away his tears and tried to smile. “Because I am happy to have you, my love.”</p><p> </p><p>It would still be a while longer until Heath recovered his full strength to be able to hunt for himself, but Sugizo did not mind hunting for the both of them. Prey was easy to find. A few times he even brought live prey back and they would set upon their hapless victim together, leaving the corpse behind when they departed at dusk the next evening. This was not Sugizo’s preferred method as they had been taught to leave no bodies and he generally disliked having to spend the day sleeping near a corpse, but Heath needed the nourishment. Now that he was far from mortal danger, however, Sugizo could also afford to be more choosy about the kind of people he preyed upon. It was still early in the evening yet, and he set his sights on a young woman, not yet twenty, as sweet and fresh as a spring flower: the perfect meal. He stalked her from a safe distance, watching her every move, waiting for the moment when he could strike up conversation and lure her into a dark corner or alley, away from prying eyes.</p><p>“Good evening, miss.”</p><p>The young woman stopped. So did Sugizo. An older, grizzled man with greying stubble and a missing tooth grinned at her. “Tell me, where did you purchase such a fine kimono?”</p><p>“It… it belonged to my mother, s-sir,” she stammered, taking a step backwards and avoiding his gaze.</p><p>The older man closed the distance between them and Sugizo could smell the fear in the woman’s scent. “Your mother, eh?” he grunted, catching her chin between his thick, dirty fingers. “Is she as pretty as you?”</p><p>“P-please—”</p><p>“Hey. You.”</p><p>The dirty old man and the young woman looked up to see a young man, a modestly-dressed stranger approaching them.</p><p>“I strongly suggest you leave this young lady alone,” Sugizo said smoothly.</p><p>The old man snorted and laughed in his face. “Who are you? Her husband?”</p><p>“No. Just someone who thinks that you should leave before you get hurt.”</p><p>“Is that so?” snarled the dirty old man, and the young woman cried out in fear when he grabbed her arm. “What are you going to do about it?”</p><p>Passers by began to stare and murmur amongst themselves. Sugizo calmly approached the man, placed one hand on his wrist and <em> squeezed</em>.</p><p>“What— ow, hey you’re hurting me,” the man grunted.</p><p>“If you stop bothering this young lady, I’ll stop hurting you.”</p><p>“Fuck you! You—<em> ah! </em> Let me go let me—”</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="small"><em> CRACK</em>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>A few of the onlookers gasped and the man let go of the young woman.</p><p>“My <em> arm!</em>” he howled, clutching the injured limb with his good hand. “Fucking bastard, <em> you broke my arm!</em>”</p><p>“It will heal,” Sugizo said coolly. “Not well, but it will heal.”</p><p>“S-sir, thank you.” The young woman bowed before Sugizo, and he smiled.</p><p>“You will never need to worry about people like him again.”</p><p>“How can I ever repay you?”</p><p>Sugizo patted her shoulder reassuringly. “You need not do anything to repay me. Perhaps I could walk you home? It would ease my heart greatly to know that you have made it home safely.”</p><p>The young woman cast another look in the direction that her would-be attacker had fled, still wailing about his broken arm. “I would appreciate that very much, kind sir.”</p><p> </p><p>Sugizo and Heath fed very well that night.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For simplicity’s sake, I’m using the modern prefecture names that came into effect in the after the Meiji Restoration instead of the now-obsolete provinces that would be accurate for the current 1700s period. What we know as Chiba Prefecture was not established until 1873.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>NSFW :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sugizo took a deep breath of the cool air of late-autumn. Winter would soon be upon them and with Heath making a full recovery, it was time to start thinking about the future and where they would go from here. He had fed sparingly tonight, having taken a small amount of blood from three different people. The first was a vibrant young woman, recently married and with child. She had tasted sweet and rich. The second was an older woman, likely with a husband and children at home. She had a more mature, well-rounded taste. The third was a young man, scarcely seventeen and a virgin, by the mild taste of his blood. He had not yet developed the stronger, musky flavour of a sexually mature male. Each of them had lived. He had recently stopped overfeeding. There was no need anymore. His victims would wake up feeling strange and weak, and go home to tell their families about strange shadows lurking in the dark. In addition to taking their blood, Sugizo had quietly taken their money and any other valuables they had on their person. If he and Heath were to walk amongst humans and blend in, it seemed inevitable that they would need to use money for something eventually.</p>
<p>Feeling very satisfied with tonight’s efforts, he made his way to the little fisherman’s hut by the river where they would spend the day sleeping. Fishing season was well and truly over now that it was getting colder. The fish had long since spawned and migrated to warmer coastal waters or otherwise died and been snatched up by bears and hawks and other predatory animals to fatten up and feed their young before prey became too scarce during the coldest months of the year. The fishermen had cleaned and dried their catches for their winter stores and, like the fish, would not return for months. Sugizo pushed open the door to the flimsy hut and stopped and stared. The hut was empty.</p>
<p>He clenched and unclenched his hands, fighting the slew of frantic <em> what if</em>s running through his mind like a swarm of buzzing insects. Beneath the fishy odour,  Heath’s scent still lingered. That meant that he couldn’t be long gone. Before Sugizo could run off in a panic, he heard gentle splashing over the sound of running water nearby, and he made his way down to the reedy riverbank. A kimono and hakama lay neatly folded on a large rock and bathing in the river was Heath, so exquisitely beautiful in the light of the moon with his smooth black hair drawing dark lines along his back and shoulders like the finest calligraphy upon a scroll of pale silk cloth. He turned and looked up when he heard soft footsteps approaching in the grass, and his body looked strong and firm. There was no trace of the scar on his chest. He was perfect.</p>
<p>“You’re back,” Heath greeted Sugizo, smiling warmly.</p>
<p>Sugizo knelt down at the riverbank. “You gave me a dreadful fright. I thought somebody had swooped in and taken you or… or that you had left me.”</p>
<p>Heath’s easy smile faded and for a brief moment he frowned—remorse for worrying him, or reproach that he would even entertain the idea?—and then he took Sugizo’s hand, pressing a kiss to his palm. “Of course not, love. How could I ever want to leave your side?”</p>
<p>A current of delight skittered up Sugizo’s spine like tiny tendrils of ice. It still made him feel giddy every time Heath called him ‘love’. He wondered if he would ever get used to it. “I am glad.”</p>
<p>“I simply could <em> not </em> live with myself for another night without having a good wash.”</p>
<p>“You should be resting.”</p>
<p>“I am tired of resting,” Heath said with a weary sigh. “It has been more than a turn of the moon since I had a proper soak. I had thought to be finished by the time you came back but it felt so nice to be clean again that I wasn’t ready to leave the water just yet.” He drew more kisses up Sugizo’s wrist, mouthing at his skin and making him purr.</p>
<p>“Are you hungry?”</p>
<p>“Mmm. Not yet. Come, join me.” Heath leaned against the riverbank and reached up to Sugizo’s waist, and his deft fingers began to undo the knots securing his hakama. Sugizo shifted closer and helped him undo the obi at the back, and he slipped out of his hakama while Heath’s chilly fingers slid his kimono off his shoulders. Sugizo did not bother to fold them in a neat pile the way Heath had done with his own clothes. He had other, more important, more interesting matters on his mind. They had seen each other naked before and even occasionally touched each other at their maker’s behest, but this was different. They were in love. Heath guided Sugizo past the rocks and reeds and into the cold, cold river and kissed him, slow enough to make their heads spin. It had been over a month since they first kissed beneath the maple tree but it felt like an eternity, and now they could finally enjoy some well-deserved time together, gazing at each other through half-lidded eyes, and then Heath pressed his body against Sugizo’s and offered him his neck.</p>
<p>“Do it,” he breathed.</p>
<p>“I…” Sugizo swallowed, his hands resting at Heath’s waist. Gingerly, he reached up to touch his neck, closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He was sorely tempted; Heath smelled so, so good but he had just come out of a month-long recovery from a life-threatening injury. Surely it wouldn’t be right to take blood from him so soon. Sugizo took his hands away. “I cannot.”</p>
<p>“I want you to. Please, love?”</p>
<p>“Heath—”</p>
<p>“I want to know what it’s like to have you feed from me. It is all I have been thinking of for days. I want my blood inside you, the way your blood runs in me. You complete me.”</p>
<p>Sugizo gulped again. He let his lips brush against Heath’s neck, kissing him, mouthing him softly. Beneath his lips, Heath’s pulse throbbed as though it called to him.</p>
<p>“You always taste so good. I want you to taste me, too.”</p>
<p>Sugizo needed no more encouragement than that. He bit down and hot, sweet blood flooded his mouth.</p>
<p>“<em>Yes</em>,” Heath sighed with pleasure, his hands digging into Sugizo’s back, pressing him closer still, and his pulse quickened as Sugizo swallowed and drew another mouthful of blood, almost choking when he felt Heath’s light fingers making their way down his body, playing with him, teasing the neediest part of him.</p>
<p>Heath laughed.</p>
<p>Sugizo wiped the blood off his lip with the back of one hand and licked the bites clean until they healed and all the while, Heath played with him. Sugizo clenched his teeth. “Heath.”</p>
<p>“Yes, love?”</p>
<p>“Please do not tease me.”</p>
<p>“Why not?” There was laughter in Heath’s voice and laughter in his eyes, and his hands did not stop their tantalising strokes, up and down and up again.</p>
<p>“Because I…” Sugizo’s voice caught in his throat when Heath started mouthing at his neck where his pulse fluttered with excitement, nipping him lightly.</p>
<p>“Mm?”</p>
<p>“I…cannot guarantee that I will control myself.”</p>
<p>Heath only smiled at this and went on stroking him with his hands, teasing him with play bites, nicking his skin and licking up the tiny beads of blood before they healed over, drawing his tongue up along his throat. “Take me, my love. I need you. Make me yours.”</p>
<p>Sugizo took him by the waist, hauled him out of the water and onto the grassy riverbank in one fluid movement, kissing him aggressively, biting his lip and making him bleed, grinding his hardness against Heath’s equally needy body and they were little more than rutting beasts then, naked and wet and gleaming, all but devouring each other with hot, bloody kisses and bites, heaving chests and deep gasps and heady moans of desire. Heath’s hands tangled in Sugizo’s hair, clutched at his back and dug in, clamped his legs about his waist, whimpering, begging, <em> needing </em> him closer. Their bodies were too wet from their dip in the river, too slick and slippery and this only fuelled their frenzied desire until Sugizo simply could not hold back and he parted Heath’s pale thighs and sank inside him, to their mutual cries of pleasure and relief. They stilled for a few moments to catch their breath, foreheads touching, gazing into each other’s dark eyes, listening to the whisper of wind through the grass and trees, the ripple of the river and their own shallow breathing. They couldn’t quite believe this was happening. It simply felt too good to be true.</p>
<p>Heath let out a tremulous moan and clenched around his lover. “I have wanted this for so long,” he whispered.</p>
<p>Sugizo groaned and buried his head in the crook of Heath’s neck, almost sobbing with pleasure. He had coupled with dozens of men and women during his time at the pleasure house and of course he had slept with Yoshiki; he was intimately familiar with all manner of sexual acts and could bring just about anyone to a screaming climax with just his hands or mouth, but that had always been out of business and duty. Desire had never been a part of the equation. He had never known romantic love until now. He had never known the kind of physical love that could bring him to tears, to be joined with someone so dear to him, the desire to give all pleasures to his partner for the sake of pleasing him, the need to hold and love and touch and have him. He had never <em> cared </em> for his partner the way he did now as their bodies burned with lust, trading kisses and bites and blood. Their bodies completed and complemented one another the way nobody else had and nobody else could, their lips perfectly shaped for kisses, hands that were both strong and delicate enough to entice and torment, their eyes made for appreciating his lover. Even the alchemy of their bodies was perfect, for each found his partner’s scent addictive and the taste of his blood powerfully seductive, especially now during the throes of their lovemaking when their blood ran as hot as molten gold. As they moved together, Sugizo traced a line of kisses along Heath’s throat, past the gentle rise and dip of his collarbone, pausing to mouth lazily at the pert nipple along the way and using his hands to trace along the same route that Yoshiki had taken to try to end Heath’s life. There was no pain now, no scars and no marks to hint that it had ever happened and beneath him, Heath purred and writhed, and Sugizo slowly withdrew from his body and Heath bit back a whimper of disapproval that quickly gave way to delight when Sugizo sat up and pulled him into his lap and offered him his neck. Heath kissed him where his pulse thrummed and eased himself onto his lover’s length until he was fully, deeply sheathed back inside him, rocking their bodies together, Sugizo panting and mewling while he let Heath take control of their mutual pleasure and sharp teeth pierced the skin of his neck and Heath drank delicately, not so much to feed but more to entice, letting his lover’s blood fuel his desire until his body tensed and his movements became frenetic, rolling his hips harder and faster and he clung to Sugizo and arched with a breathless cry from his bloodstained lips upon the sudden rise of his climax, his breath coming in harsh gasps as he rode right through his peak while Sugizo chased after his own release, chased it and caught it and let it devour and overwhelm and ruin him so that he could do nothing but hold the one he loved so fiercely, so precious and beautiful all alight with pleasure and they kissed and kissed, for they had not known love such as this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Afterwards, they basked in the coolness of the river with Heath cradled tenderly in Sugizo’s arms.</p>
<p>“Mmm,” Heath murmured, smiling to himself, tracing shapeless lines over Sugizo’s bare chest. “You are a wicked, despicable creature.”</p>
<p>Sugizo caught that hand and pressed it to his lips. “Is that so?”</p>
<p>“Oh, without a doubt.”</p>
<p>“As I recall, you were the one bathing indecently out in the open.”</p>
<p>“I could hardly wash myself properly with clothes on.”</p>
<p>“I was vulnerable. You stripped me naked and seduced me.”</p>
<p>“I had gotten myself nice and clean before you attacked me.”</p>
<p>“You,” Sugizo said, taking those lovely lips to his, “are a filthy liar.”</p>
<p>Heath smiled into their kiss. “It occurs to me that I never thanked you.”</p>
<p>Sugizo blinked. “For what?”</p>
<p>“For saving my life and taking care of me.” His mood turned sombre, Heath cast his gaze aside, watching sodden brown autumn leaves bobbing and swirling along the water’s surface and catching on sticks and reeds along the way. “It is not death that frightens me. It’s knowing that I could have missed out on… this. The happiness of being with you. That would have been the greatest shame of all.” </p>
<p>Sugizo sighed and squeezed him just a little tighter. “You needn’t thank me. There is no debt that is owed.”</p>
<p>“All the same, I want you to know that I will always be grateful.”</p>
<p>“I know.” Sugizo allowed himself a small smile. “But I cannot say that my intentions were entirely selfless.”</p>
<p>“You <em> are </em> wicked! It is a good thing, then, that I fancy you so.”</p>
<p>“You fancy me, do you?”</p>
<p>“Would I have let you do <em> that </em> to me if I did not?” Heath gave him a playful shove and Sugizo caught both of his wrists and pinned them behind his back.</p>
<p>“I can show you just how wicked I can be,” he said in a low voice, dark and husky.</p>
<p>“I would like that very much, my love,” Heath said with a small sigh of regret. “But I fear it may have to wait. You and your lustful ways have worn me out.”</p>
<p>“I don’t mind waiting,” Sugizo said mildly. “You will need to rest and regain your strength for what I plan to do to you.”</p>
<p>Heath smiled and tucked his head beneath Sugizo’s chin. “Disgusting.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The two lovers slept soundly and contentedly throughout the day, and Heath awoke just after twilight to a set of soft lips at his neck and cool hands slowly sliding inside the folds of his kimono, settling between his legs.</p>
<p>“So wicked,” Heath murmured, letting his thighs fall open.</p>
<p>“I will make no apologies for how I feel about you.” Sugizo’s voice was muffled as he drew deep kisses along his lover’s throat. “Wake up, sweetness. It is time for us to rise and continue on our way.”</p>
<p>Heath kept his eyes closed and sighed with pleasure, enjoying those kisses, his body arching into Sugizo’s touch almost of its own accord. “Let us stay for another day. You deserve to rest, too.”</p>
<p>Sugizo mouthed at his neck, letting his teeth graze against Heath’s skin. “Not if <em> you </em> have anything to do with it.”</p>
<p>The pair simply could not keep their hands or lips from each other and before long, they shed their clothes and made love loudly and passionately on the damp, dirty floor of the fisherman’s hut.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With Heath fully recovered and able to hunt for himself, they set upon the nearest town together to hunt as a pack, taking a little here and a little there as they had been taught by their maker. There was no longer any need to drink anyone dry, and with the money that Sugizo had stolen from some of his victims, they purchased new clothes and burned their old ones. Wherever they could, they would retire to their new hiding place after having a good feed and they’d enjoy each other for hours before going to sleep. As two mature and experienced vampires, they continued moving from place to place regardless of rain, snow or heat. They rarely spoke of him but the constant threat of Yoshiki lying in wait for them at the next corner, the next road, the next village, weighed on their minds. They slowly made their way from Chiba to Tochigi, Fukushima, Niigata, Toyama, Shiga, never seeing Yoshiki or more of their kind, never staying in any one town or village for more than one or two weeks at a stretch for fear that lingering in any one place for too long would allow their maker to catch up to them and find them, and take away the happiness that they had endured so much to gain.</p>
<p>Time is of little consequence to their kind; weeks and months passed in what seemed like mere hours and days, and after spending six years drifting wherever the wind took them, the pair decided to settle in Gunma Prefecture for a time. They strolled through the bustling little towns at nightfall when eating and drinking establishments would light the paper lanterns hanging from the eaves, gently swinging in the biting winter breeze. Sugizo and Heath smiled at each other. Hunting here would be very easy. They surveyed their surroundings with great care and stopped at a quaint tea shop.</p>
<p>“Terribly cold, isn’t it?” said the little old woman behind the counter, smiling so that the corners of her eyes crinkled, and rubbing her gnarled hands for warmth.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Sugizo agreed, watching a small group of children run past in their heavy winter clothes, lively and carefree. “How has business been?”</p>
<p>“It comes and it goes. I have a very fine tea brought here by merchants from China not three days ago. Perhaps you’d like to sample some to warm yourselves up?”</p>
<p>“We’d like that very much. My friend here comes from a family of tea merchants.” Sugizo smiled at Heath. “I’m sure he would love to try some.”</p>
<p>“Is that right?” The old woman’s face lit up. “I’d like to find out what a fellow tea devotee thinks.”</p>
<p>Heath accepted the cup of steaming tea. He brought it to his face, relishing the gentle steam upon his skin, taking in the fragrance before having a small sip and then another. He set his cup down on the counter. “Oolong tea.”</p>
<p>“Very good, young man. What else can you tell me?”</p>
<p>“Fujian province.” Heath closed his eyes and took another sip. The light, golden-hued brew boasted a gentle floral taste and aroma with a smooth, velvety finish. “There is a faint fragrance of orchids. If I had to guess… the Anxi region. A very nice tieguanyin.”</p>
<p>The old woman beamed and clapped. “Excellent, excellent! It is, in fact, the finest tieguanyin harvested at the peak of its season, just this spring past. Your family has raised you well. May I ask where you are from?”</p>
<p>Heath smiled modestly. “My family came from Hyogo Prefecture. Amagasaki.”</p>
<p>“Goodness! You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?”</p>
<p>“We are travelling.”</p>
<p>“Ah.” The old woman nodded sagely. “It is good to be able to travel while you are young. Sadly, my travelling days are long gone.”</p>
<p>The pair shared a small, secret smile between themselves. At a guess, they were probably the same age as she. They stood, nursing the rest of their tea, as a young woman accompanied by her husband approached the same tea shop and made polite conversation with the little old shop owner. Heath and Sugizo watched them from the corner of their eyes as the newcomers also sampled a cup of tieguanyin and spent a moment discussing other teas amongst themselves, their breath coming out in puffs of vapour in the chilly air. After some light bickering, the young couple settled on some mild sencha.</p>
<p>“Now, is there anything else I might help you young lads with?” The old woman returned to them, all smiles.</p>
<p>Heath set down his empty tea cup. “I would very much like to purchase some of your lovely tieguanyin, please.”</p>
<p>“Caught your fancy, eh? Now, it is a touch on the expensive side but I’m sure you’ll agree that the quality is worth it.” The little old woman busied herself bustling about with scales and implements, wrapping the tea leaves very carefully in layers of paper. “Here you go, young man. Enjoy your tea, and please do visit again.”</p>
<p>“We certainly shall.” Heath paid for his purchase and bowed, and he and Sugizo set off in the direction that the young couple had gone.</p>
<p><br/>They stalked the young woman and her husband and watched them stop at a ramen shop for a meal. Being that they could not eat human food themselves, Heath and Sugizo decided to wait. That was when they noticed <em> him</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh yeah, Heath and Sugizo are THAT COUPLE who annoys everybody with how irritatingly and perfectly in love they are.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was Heath who noticed him first. He stopped where he was, took Sugizo by the hand and pulled him deep into the shadows, out of sight.</p>
<p>“What is it?” Sugizo whispered.</p>
<p>Heath didn’t reply and he stayed very still, turning his head very slowly, looking in all directions, and that was when Sugizo caught his scent, too. It was faint in the air but someone was definitely there, very old blood, probably as old as Yoshiki, probably <em> was </em> Yoshiki. Worse still was if they could smell him, then he could almost certainly smell them and there was little point in hiding.</p>
<p>Sugizo’s hand tightened around Heath’s. “We should leave. Quickly, before he finds us. He may yet lose our trail.” If Yoshiki saw them alive and well and together, Sugizo had no doubt that their maker would finish what he had started by the light of the mid-autumn full moon six years ago.</p>
<p>The pair slipped back into the bustling street in the vain hope that the crowds and the combined smells of humans and fresh food and oil and smoke from the kitchens would be enough to mask their trail from their maker’s keen senses.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I do apologise. I did not mean to startle you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They stopped short, just beyond the mouth of a narrow alley lit only by a single paper lantern far above their heads, but their sharp eyes saw him perfectly clearly: a tall, aristocratic-looking man with skin as pale as theirs, long, dark hair and even darker eyes beneath a severe brow. There was an enigmatic, brooding kind of beauty to him and his voice was rich and deep. A slow smile spread across his dark, painted lips.</p>
<p>Sugizo held Heath’s wrist and they took a cautious step back. “Good evening, sir.”</p>
<p>The stranger bowed, his long black hair falling over his shoulders like a sheet of silk. “And a good evening to you. To whom do I owe the pleasure of meeting?”</p>
<p>“We are but two travellers, sir.”</p>
<p>The stranger’s eyes narrowed shrewdly but his smile did not falter. “Come, now. Let us not play these childish games. I know what you are and you know what I am. That much is clear.”</p>
<p>“Begging your pardon, good sir,” Heath said politely. “If we have insulted you, you have our sincerest apologies. We meant no offense and we do not wish to have any quarrel with you. If this is your territory, all we ask is to rest and feed for a few nights and we can be on our way.”</p>
<p>The tall, dark stranger threw back his head and laughed. “Please, my friends, be at ease. I mean you no harm. It has been too many a year since I have crossed paths with our own kind. Let me show you to my home and we can sit down for a drink.” He bowed again. “My name is Sakurai Atsushi. Welcome to Gunma.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>***</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Their new friend Atsushi led them through town and up a rocky path that snaked its way through the forest. Sugizo and Heath remained alert and wary, holding hands very tightly in case they might need to flee at a moment’s notice. Atsushi himself seemed unconcerned, striding easily before them, pointing out this shrine or that river.</p>
<p>“You must have lived in Gunma for a very long time,” Sugizo said.</p>
<p>“Ah yes. Many, many years.” Atsushi pointed to a mountain towards the south of where they stood. “Over there you’ll see Mount Haruna. Mind your step, now.”</p>
<p>A small pale shape darted out from the trees: a calico cat dashing across the path on soft, silent paws, almost right under their feet. The rocky path began to climb and became overgrown with moss and lichen and weeds the deeper into the forest they ventured. Where on earth was Atsushi taking them? Only someone who had made the journey many, many times would know that a path even existed here, especially in the dark. If this was some sort of elaborate trap, this Atsushi character would have the upper hand with such an intimate knowledge of the forest and its secrets.</p>
<p>“We are almost there.” Atsushi stopped beside a small red torii gate that sat by the side of the path. It was not much higher than their ankles, and he picked up a parcel wrapped in paper and tied with string, and a small clay flask. He offered no explanation.</p>
<p>The moon drifted high in the sky by the time they reached a clearing where a grand old house stood. Atsushi smiled cordially to his two guests and bowed at the doorway.</p>
<p>“Welcome to my home. Please make yourselves comfortable and sit by the hearth. I shall brew us some tea.”</p>
<p>Somewhat perplexed, Sugizo and Heath sat beside the sunken irori hearth in the centre of the room. Though the cold was of minor consequence to their kind, it was nonetheless pleasant to be able to sit by an open hearth and warm themselves. Presently, their host returned with a fine black lacquered tray and a clay teapot with three matching cups.</p>
<p>“This tea is a very fine tieguanyin from China,” he said, setting the tray on the floor. “I purchased it from old Mrs Fukui in town. Her goods are always of the highest quality. I believe you also paid her a visit earlier this evening, did you not?”</p>
<p>Heath exchanged another glance with Sugizo. How long had Atsushi been watching and following them?</p>
<p>Seeing their look, Atsushi burst into peals of melodious laughter. “Please lay your worries aside. I only thought it curious to see the two of you tonight. I have lived here for over one hundred years and not encountered even one of us until now. I would very much like for us to be friends.”</p>
<p>Sugizo inclined his head politely. “Please accept our apologies, sir—”</p>
<p>“You may call me Atsushi, my friends.”</p>
<p>“Very well. We do not mean to be rude. It’s just that we, too, have not come across any others like us since we left home six years ago.”</p>
<p>“That is fair. We are a rare breed, and how are you to know whether one is friendly or not?”</p>
<p>“Yes.” Sugizo hesitated. “We are also… avoiding somebody.”</p>
<p>“Ah,” Atsushi said very softly, casting them a very knowing look with glittering eyes, first at Heath and then Sugizo. “Your maker?”</p>
<p>Sugizo hesitated again. “Yes.”</p>
<p>“Please do not worry,” Atsushi said, smiling broadly. “You will be quite safe here. As I said, there exists no other of our kind in Gunma aside from myself, and I will allow no harm to come to my guests. You have my word.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Heath said gratefully.</p>
<p>The three of them settled down to enjoy the fragrant tea by the warmth of the hearth, and their host smiled when a handsome, long-haired black cat with a torn ear padded across the tatami and rubbed itself against Heath’s legs. “Ah, I see that Miu has taken a liking to you, Heath. You can pat him. He’s very friendly.”</p>
<p>Obediently, Heath stroked the cat’s soft fur and Miu pushed his head into Heath’s hand, purring loudly. “You’re very fond of cats, aren’t you?” Aside from Miu, there were six other cats in the room and at least a dozen more outside.</p>
<p>“Oh yes,” said the older vampire, producing the parcel he had picked up earlier and unwrapping it. Inside were several dried saury, and a few of the cats sauntered across the floor to take a fish each. The clay flask he set to one side. “I’ve always had a special affinity for cats. Perhaps I was a cat in a past life and my little friends can smell it on me.”</p>
<p>“You mentioned that you have lived here for over one hundred years…”</p>
<p>“Oh yes. And my family has lived here for generations before me. I was the only child in my family. We lived very comfortably here with my parents and grandparents, and I had a lovely wife and two sweet daughters. Then one evening as I came home using that same path through the forest, I was attacked. I do not know why I was targeted or by whom. When I woke up, I knew that something about me was different somehow.”</p>
<p>Heath and Sugizo nodded sagely. This was the same story that Mana had told them during the rare moments that he spoke, and it was sad to think that this was not an isolated incident. They themselves held no love for their maker, but at least Yoshiki had taken the time and effort to raise them and teach them how to look after themselves.</p>
<p>“As soon as I arrived home and set eyes upon my wife and children, the smell of their blood frightened me most dreadfully and I fled. I could hear them calling and calling for me, and for months and years they searched for me, but I could not return to them as I was. I spent a decade looking for a cure. When there was none to be found, I returned to Gunma and kept watch over my family from a distance.”</p>
<p>During this time, he said, he watched his family die off in stages: his parents in their sixties, his wife in her seventies, and one of his daughters died of a fever at only sixteen. His one remaining daughter grew up and married and moved away from the family home, and there the old Sakurai bloodline of Gunma ended. The family home fell into disarray and with nobody to maintain it, it quickly became overrun with vegetation until Atsushi himself returned to reclaim it.</p>
<p>“That was well over one hundred years ago. The people of the villages nearby are afraid to venture this far into the forest. They know that the Sakurai family left no descendants and that the house was abandoned.”</p>
<p>“But can they not see the light from your lanterns or the smoke from your hearth?” Sugizo asked.</p>
<p>Atsushi smiled shrewdly. “The local people believe that the area has been haunted by a bakeneko ever since the family bloodline ended. Who knows, perhaps it was the bakeneko who cursed the family and caused its ruin.”</p>
<p>Looking around at the many cats lounging and playing and prowling in the area, it wasn’t difficult to understand why the villagers would be afraid of approaching the area.</p>
<p>“I have lived here very comfortably since then and I feed upon the villagers sparingly. Legend has it that those who bear the mark of the bakeneko’s wrathful bite must make an offering of fish and lamp oil to appease him.” Atsushi touched the clay flask and laughed heartily. “I must say that this quaint superstition of theirs has worked very much in my favour. Their gifts of fish help to keep my cats well-fed, and I keep and use the lamp oil for myself.”</p>
<p>Their host refilled their tea cups.</p>
<p>“Now, that is quite enough about me.” Atsushi smiled at Sugizo. “May I ask how you came to know each other, and what brings you to Gunma?”</p>
<p>Sugizo took a sip of his tea. “Heath and I share a maker. When I was a child, I was sold to a pleasure house in Kanagawa and that was where I was… shall we say, picked up. A year after I was changed, our maker stole Heath, the second son of a family of tea merchants in Hyogo.”</p>
<p>Atsushi listened to their story with great interest, nodding every now and then and stroking a kitten that had climbed into his lap.</p>
<p>“We stayed with our maker for many years but after an unpleasant altercation with him, we made the decision to leave together.” Sugizo did not think it was appropriate to disclose any specific details of their ordeal at Yoshiki’s hands and Heath’s recovery. That part was personal. “And so we have been travelling together for six years, seeing the world.”</p>
<p>A chilling scream made them all turn and Atsushi got to his feet, tutting. “I do hate it when they fight.” He hurried outside to break up the cat fight, and Sugizo and Heath rose from their seats as well.</p>
<p>“It is late, my lord,” Sugizo said with a bow. “We have taken enough of your time.”</p>
<p>“Oh, no, please!” Atsushi implored, touching his arm lightly. “I would be honoured if you might stay a while. I have not ventured beyond the borders of Gunma since I settled back in my family’s home. I would very much like to enjoy your company for a while longer and to hear about the world from a pair of youngsters, and you look like you could do with a comfortable place to sleep. You have travelled long and far.”</p>
<p>“We have no wish to inconvenience—”</p>
<p>“Inconvenience? No, no, I will not hear of such nonsense,” Atsushi interrupted. “It would be my express pleasure.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And so the pair stayed at Atsushi’s grand old ancestral home for half a year. It was impossible to deny that life was significantly easier during this time. They had a safe, warm place to return to every night with no fear of being discovered by suspicious humans, no danger of being caught at dawn with no shelter, and their host’s solemn guarantee for their safety meant that they could visit and hunt in the nearby villages without needing to watch out for shadows in the dark, waiting to snatch them up and drag them back to their maker to be punished for the crime of falling in love.</p>
<p>Sakurai Atsushi was the perfect host. They didn’t mind sleeping on the bare tatami but Atsushi took pains to air out a very musty set of futons for them to sleep in, served expensive tea to them every night and showed them around Gunma, as well as the best places to hunt. On rare occasions they might go out and hunt together, all three of them, but it was safer to hunt as individuals so as not to rouse suspicion. After they had fed, most evenings were spent sitting by the hearth, enjoying a cup of tea and sharing stories of travel; Sugizo and Heath were particularly taken with their elder’s tales from long before they were born, and how much the world had changed in that time. Did he ever find his maker?</p>
<p>Atsushi shook his head. “Alas, no. I fear my maker does not want anything to do with me.”</p>
<p>“That is so sad,” Heath murmured, gently stroking the black cat, Miu.</p>
<p>“Is that so different from not wanting anything to do with our maker?” Sugizo quipped.</p>
<p>Heath smiled. “That is his own fault.”</p>
<p>“It has been long enough that I am not too concerned about my maker. I’m sure <em> your </em> maker is a remarkable man, though,” Atsushi said, gently stroking Sugizo’s cheek with the back of one cool hand. “He certainly has excellent taste in those he chooses to be his children.”</p>
<p>Sugizo blinked, taken aback. “M-my lord?”</p>
<p>But Atsushi had already withdrawn his hand and picked up one of his many cats. He crossed the floor and stood by the door, looking out into the night. Winter was coming to an end; the bare trees and shrubs were sprouting pale green leaves, the air smelled of fresh rain, and some of the forest animals were already darting about with their young in tow. In the branches of the trees above them, a bird stirred and chirped. Atsushi sighed and smiled, and leaned over to blow out the flame in the oil lamp.</p>
<p>“Dawn is coming, my friends. It is time we retired and let the daywalkers go about their business.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Squeezed onto one futon, Heath tucked his head beneath Sugizo’s chin and nuzzled him affectionately. “Is something the matter? You seemed tense just now.”</p>
<p>In the dark, Sugizo smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Just a little tired. It’s nothing.”</p>
<p>Heath sighed softly. “I think I know what’s bothering you.”</p>
<p>“Oh?”</p>
<p>Sugizo felt Heath’s cool hand reaching up to touch his face. “It must have been uncomfortable when Atsushi mentioned Yoshiki. It was uncomfortable for me, too. Even now he torments me in my dreams. I… try not to think of him and what he did to us. When I can. But we can’t let him control us like this. He is not a part of our lives anymore. Not for years. If we continue to let his presence and his memory threaten us, then he will always hold sway over us. The only way we can take that power away from him is to live our lives and forget him.”</p>
<p>“Mm.”</p>
<p>“Promise me, love.” Heath slipped his arms around Sugizo and held him tight. “Promise me you’ll not spend our time together dwelling on him.”</p>
<p>Sugizo smiled and gave Heath another reassuring kiss. “I promise.”</p>
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